1. Field
Some example embodiments relate to methods of growing a nitride semiconductor layer and/or a nitride semiconductor formed by using the same, and more particularly, to methods of growing a nitride semiconductor layer and/or a nitride semiconductor formed by using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic industry that uses a nitride semiconductor draws attention as a field that accords with the development and growth of green industries. In particular, gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor, which is one of a nitride semiconductor, is widely used in light-emitting diode (LED) display devices and backlights. Also, due to lower power consumption and longer lifetime than light bulbs and fluorescent lamps of the related art, the usage of LEDs is expanding to general illumination purposes by replacing incandescent bulbs and fluorescent lamps. Of red, green, and blue light-emitting diodes, GaN is widely used for manufacturing a blue light-emitting diode, which is a core diode of high output electronic parts that include LEDs. This is because a blue light-emitting diode that uses GaN has superior brightness, lifetime, and internal quantum efficiency to those of zinc selenide (ZnSe), which is a conventional semiconductor material of a light-emitting diode that emits light in a blue light range. Also, GaN has a direct transitional band gap structure and a band gap that can be controlled to a level of 1.9-6.2 eV through an alloy with In (Indium) or Al (Aluminum), and thus, GaN may be used for manufacturing semiconductor layers that emit green, blue, and white lights. That is, since an emitted wavelength can be controlled by controlling the band gap, the characteristics of GaN may be adjusted according to the characteristics of a specific device.
For example, since a white LED that can replace a blue light LED and incandescent bulbs that are useful for optical recording may be manufactured by using GaN, GaN has a very high value for use in an optical device. Also, since GaN has a high breakdown voltage and is stable at a high temperature, GaN is useful in various fields such as high output devices or high temperature devices that cannot be formed by other materials. For example, GaN may be applied to a large display panel that uses a full color display, a signal lamp, a light source of optical recording media, or a high output transistor of motor vehicles.